Hero Meets Fire
by UglyFingers
Summary: ONE SHOT. In an AU after Voldemort's defeat, Harry mourns the loss of his comrades and decides to travel back in time to see his loved ones once again. While working in the Department of Mysteries one day, his wish to go back in time was granted, though not in the way he expected...


A/N:

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I know little about history so please don't hold it against me if I somehow managed to get something wrong. This story takes place in an AU after Harry defeated Voldemort.

Story Start:

Harry Potter rubbed his eyes as he woke up to the sounds of gunfire and battle. Smoke and dust permeated the air as everything around him exploded into rubble. Men, women, and children lay scattered about, their lifeless eyes gazing at the destruction of their beloved home land. Broken shards of glass peppered the broken asphalt and concrete from the shattered buildings that the bombs had reduced to crumbling ruins.

He covered his ears as the roar of another fleet of German planes passed overhead, dropping bombs in their wake. He barely had the time to put up a shield charm as the surrounding buildings and pavements exploded in a shower of dirt and concrete. He cursed his luck as he ran through the burning street, mentally berating himself for tampering with something as potentially dangerous as a Time Turner.

After all the excitement over Voldemort's downfall have receded, Harry was overcome with extreme boredom and spent most of his time in the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable. Most of his friends have died and romance wasn't really a priority as he practically fought the war all by himself. The Order of the Phoenix were nothing but a shadow of the past as Harry turned seventeen. With all of its members, new and old, murdered, Harry was left with no choice but to take it upon his shoulders to end things once and for all. He knew he couldn't count on the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts was already under the control of the Death Eaters. As Harry's friends died one by one, he wasn't even allowed the time to grieve their deaths as he searched for the answer to end the war.

Luckily, he was able to get his hands on one of the time traveling devices in the Department of Mysteries during one of his solo missions before Voldemort's army destroyed them all.

With the power of time in his hands, Harry was able to pick apart Voldemort's forces starting from the edges. It took very careful planning and powerful traps to finally reduce their numbers by half. It wasn't until five more years of this guerrilla warfare that he was finally able to corner Voldemort and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.

At the end of it all, Harry was finally allowed the time to grieve for his deceased comrades and settle into the peaceful times that he created. Sometimes, however, he wondered if he _really_ had done his best. Maybe if he tried a little harder, then so many people might not have had to suffer. With these thoughts in mind, he dedicated himself to research on possible ways to travel back in time to see his friends one more time.

It really intrigued him about the mechanisms of the mysterious devices called Time Turners. No one really knew how they came into existence and Harry was determined to find out what other secrets they held. He did many experiments to amplify its effect but always ended up with failed results.

Then one day, it happened.

Harry was working on the Time Turner as usual when he heard voices coming from behind the veil that Sirius fell through in his fifth year. He approached the portal cautiously, remembering how easily it would be to fall into. The voices seemed to call out to him, lulling him into a trance. With a blank look in his eyes, he went back to the table and took the Time Turner. He was only vaguely aware of what he was doing as he turned back to the veiled portal, the device in his outstretched hands.

He would have screamed in terror if his mind wasn't in the numbed state that it was at that moment.

Pale, rotting, emaciated hands reached out from behind the veil, grabbing Harry's own in a deathgrip. He tried to scream for help but only a soft moan escaped his lips as the creature or whatever it was gradually emerged from the portal. The whole length of its arms emerged and a head soon followed. It had long, black hair that fell into its face, obscuring its hideous features and had skin so deathly pale that it was almost blue. It looked straight at Harry and its mouth opened, revealing a long, blue tongue. It slithered its way into Harry's hands and with a sudden flick, took the Time Turner with it as it snapped back into the mouth.

Harry couldn't move. The fear he felt was on a completely different level than when he confronted Voldemort. The coldness that seeped out of the veil did nothing to ease his horror as goosebumps erupted all over his body.

The creature made an act of swallowing before its tongue snaked back out after a few seconds of choking. To Harry's surprise, there were now two Time Turners on the slimy, blue tongue. The creature threw the golden chains over Harry's shoulder and before he could make even a whimper of protest, the world distorted as time rewound itself according to the will of the two furiously spinning Time Turners. Harry barely registered the creature going back inside the veil as he fell into darkness.

Thinking back on it now, he started to regret the offer of retirement with pension from the Ministry.

_Too late for the now._ He thought bitterly as he circled around a large, fiery truck.

He continued to move through the town as he tried to assess where and when he was at. He picked up a part of a newspaper that was still somehow miraculously readable even with most of its pages burnt off. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back for taking French lessons after Voldemort's downfall as the newspaper seemed to be in French.

**The Western Front has Fallen!**

_As of yesterday, July 16, 1914, the German forces have finally overwhelmed our forces in the Western Front and are predicted to march into Paris in three days time. The government have still not issued a decree of surrender in hopes that its allies will provide assistance..._

Harry paused as another explosion came from give houses down the road. Loud crying sounds alerted him as he bolted in the direction of the sound. He found a little girl of about four or five in the middle of the street, still clutching the remains of what used to be a teddy bear but with half its head burnt off. The girl was crying as she shook the body that held her in a tight embrace. Harry could tell the man was dead. A large iron spike was driven into his midsection and a pool of blood was forming around his knees as he kneeled with the girl in his arms.

The girl didn't notice his approach until he gently pried her away from her father's arms. The girl wouldn't let go and kept calling out to the man, unable to comprehend that he would never wake. Harry levitated the man and took him along as he carried the child. Wet tears dripped down her beautiful face that somehow seemed very familiar.

He whispered soothing words to her and stroked her silvery blonde hair in an attempt to calm her down. He looked up as someone shouted to him and apparated to his side. The man gave the floating body of the girl's father a brief look before turning back to Harry.

"The hell are you still doing out here in the open!? Come on! We gotta get the child outta here!" The man spoke in rapid french as he grabbed Harry and the corpse and apparated them away.

Harry found himself in a dim, underground passage that led to a large cavern where many people were gathered. The man told Harry to deposit the dead body in the corner where they kept the corpses covered with white sheets. No one seemed to be surprised at the show of magic and merely went back to their business as Harry laid down the child on a conjured bed.

"Are they... wizards?" Harry asked his guide.

"Some are. The rest are muggles or squibs. Can't really worry about secrecy laws when it's hell on earth right?"

Harry nodded and watched the people as they went about their business. Many had depressed looks while others tried to lighten up the mood. There were also what looked like a small task force of young men led by some veterans who seemed to be interrogating a person tied to a pole.

"Ah, that one. He's a messenger for the Germans. We captured him after he found out about this place. They're interrogating him now."

Harry nodded and squinted to see the man's nametag.

"Adolf Hitler."

Harry frowned as he tried to remember where he heard that name before. He was sure Hermione mentioned him a few times from her history books but he really wasn't one to pay attention. He already figured out that he was in France and by the looks of it, some time in the middle of a war. The newspaper told him he had gone back about a century in the past. He felt a headache begin to form as he tried to form a plan of action.

Harry felt a tug on his shirt and looked down at the girl he picked off the street. She was still clutching her teddy bear and had tears in her eyes but curiosity was evident in her face. Harry smiled gently and pointed his wand at the bear, restoring it to its former glory. The girl's face lit up and she hugged the bear even tighter with a murmured thank you. Harry crouched down and introduced himself.

"My name is Harry Potter. What's yours?"

The girl's startling blue eyes met his green ones as she answered shyly.

"Feu Delacour."

===Break===

A/N:

Feu = fire

If anyone wants to take this one shot and turn it into a story, please fell free to do so as I have no intention of writing more than this.


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